In the arena of biblical studies, there are five books that are generally included under the heading of “wisdom literature” or “the poetic books of the Old Testament.” They are the books of Proverbs, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and …Read More

What if you had an angel involved in the arrangement of your marriage or your children’s marriage, wouldn’t that be amazing? If you’re a believer, you actually do; the “Angel of the Lord” Himself. In Genesis 24, Abraham, in his …Read More

Sarah lived 127 years…. And Sarah died…. And Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her” (Gen. 23:1–2). Sarah and Abraham had been married fifty-two years. He would live almost four decades without her (see Gen. 25:7). …Read More

Several years ago I had the opportunity to teach a class on heaven and hell. On the first day of class I asked the middle-aged students to raise their hands if they could recall the last time they had heard …Read More

When Genevieve told Liz she was wearing her blouse inside-out, Liz was mortified. The verb mortify comes from a Latin word for death, so it fits Liz: she wanted to die. Nowadays we rarely use the word in any other …Read More

The question, “What is sin?” is raised in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. The answer provided to this catechetical question is simply this: “Sin is any want of conformity to or transgression of the law of God.” Let us examine some …Read More

The Christian marketplace is filled with T-shirts, tracts, and trinkets that speak of how to have the ideal Christian life. Every year, Christians spend millions of dollars on self-help books and “how-to” guides for living an abundant life. For the …Read More

Central to the practice of mortification is the believer’s union with Christ Jesus. In Romans 6:1–13, Paul shows the relationship of union with Christ to mortification. In Romans 6, the apostle is answering the objection that justification promotes sin. He …Read More

The aftermath of a conversation can change the way we later think of its significance. My friend — a younger minister — sat down with me at the end of a conference in his church and said: “Before we retire …Read More

We tend to underestimate the magnitude of sin, in particular, our own sin. And our failure to confront our sinfulness in an honest way — our tendency rather to revel in how good we are — can have devastating consequences …Read More